Ribbon-inker for addressing-machines and the like.



DTEZHUGHBS. RIBBON INKEB. FOB. ADDRESSING MACHINES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 10, 1910.

Patented Febr24, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

D. G. HUGHES. RIBBON INKER FOB, ADDRESSING MACHINES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 10, 1910,

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1,088,073. Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

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2 48 g4 25 a 416 g6 47 i I 1 1 m-m-mm-fl D.G.HUGHES. RIBBON INKER FOR ADDRESSING MACHINES AND THE LIKE.

' APPLICATION IiLED 00110, 1910.

1,088,073. Patented Feb. 24, 191 1 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

fizwmar Daoyaa Cf/ay/zea UNrrED STATES Pa r N OFFICE.

DAVYDD c. nuonns, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AsSieNoR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro JOHN B. HALL AND JOSEPH. s. DUNCAN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RIBBON-INKER FOR ATJ DRESSING-MAOHINES AND THE LIKE.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

Application filed October 10, 1910. Seria1No. 586,195.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVYDD C. Huonns, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, Cookcounty, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ribbonlnkers for Addressing-Machines and the like, of which the follow ng is a full, true, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use .the same.

,-My invention relates toprinting and addressing machines' and the like, and has special reference to inking mechanisms therefor wherein an inked ribbon or fabric is used for supplying ink for the printing operations.

The object of my invention is to provide an inking mechanism which will hold the ribbon in its proper relation to the printing position of the machine, which will pay out or advance the ribbon in a series of movements timed to the printing operations so as to present a relatively new inked surface of ribbon for each impression.

A. further object of my invention is to provide an inking mechanism for use in connection with addressing machines of the character wherein independent type plates are periodically moved forward under pressure, which inking mechanism will advance the ribbon in unison with the type lates through the printing mechanism, whic i Wlll act to constantly tension the ribbon to prevent the occurrence of slack and which will he so constructed and arranged that at the end of a series of forward movements the ribbon may be returned to its original holder, the return of ribbon being preferably controlled by the removal of the type plate receiver.

A further and incidental object of my 111 vention is to providean inking mechanism of the kind above outlined wherein the ribbon will be positively paid out from its holder, but in such a manner that the ribbon will be free and unrestrained to move with and exactly at the same speed as the type holder through the pressure parts of the machine so as not to blur or smudge the impression.

Other objects of my invention will appear hereinafter. r

While'it is possible to use my ribbon Ink ing mechanism with various kinds of printing machines and mechanisms by suitably modifying it to adapt it to requirements of these and various machines, I have shown 1n the accompanying drawings one embodiment thereof which is designed for use in connection with addressing machines of theso-called Rogers type.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a view in elevation-of the forward end of an addressing machine, parts of which are broken away or are in sections to more clearly show the operative relation of the various mechanisms. view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, the paper feed mechanism and part of the printing mechanism being removed to clearly ex pose to view the relation of parts of the inking mechanism; Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line H of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the take-up or tension holder on line 66 of Fig. 2; and Figs. 7 and 8 are enlarged detail views of the drum controlling mechanism, Fig. 7 being a sectional view on line 77 of Fig. 2.

i The addressing machine illustrated in the drawings isof the kind wherein independent type plates or printing devices are used. The various parts and mechanisms are supported in a framework in proper relation to perform a complete printing operation. Since the structure of these addressing machines is well known, I have illustrated only those parts which are necessary to a com-' plete understanding of my invention and its appllcation to this kind of addressing machine.

magazine (not shown) at the rear end of the frame. They are retained thereby in position to be withdrawn and carried forward by a conveyer, one at a time and at definite intervals, to the printing mechanism where they are met by the material to be printed, and with said material pass through Fig. 2 is a top planthe printing mechanism. The conveyer consists of two parallel chains 3, 3 running on sprocket wheels at the rear and forward ends of the frame. A guide plate 4: is mounted at the upper portion of the frame and is terminated at the printing mo h-nism. The type plates are moved forward along this guide plate by the conveyer chains and are delivered from its forward end to the printing mechanism.

.The printingmechanism is of the rotary type. It consists of a large drum 5 and a smaller upper roll 6. The large drum of the printing mechanism is mounted upon a shaft 7 suitably journaled in the frame and is co-aXial with the forward end of the conveyer. At the ends of the drum are the forward sprocket wheels 8 (Fig. 1) of the con veyer chains, the drum and sprockets being connected together and to the shaft so that they rotate in unison. In this particular machine the rear end of the conveyer (not shown) is similarly carried upon sprocket wheels and the motive power for operating the machine is derived from an electric motor connected to the shaft thereof. A crank handle 9, however, is also carried on the outer end of the shaft 7 (see Fig. 2) for manually operating the machine independently of the motor. The upper roll 6 is mounted in a swingable carriage 1" pivoted at 11 to the frame, the reason being to allow a wide separation of the drum and roll. This roll is considerably longer than the drum for the purpose of accommodating a wide range of work. It is connected with the rotary drum by suitable gear mechanism (not shown) so that its peripheral speed is the same as that of the drum. The roll and drum constitute the pressure parts of the printing mechanism and by these parts successive type plates and pieces of paper are passed together through the space between the said roll and drum. On the carriage 10 is also mounted the paper feed mechanism arranged in position to feed paper or other printable material to the printing mechanism. The paper feed mechanism 'consists of a magazine or holder 11', in which the printable material is placed, and the feed or drawing roll co-acting therewith to with draw the pieces of paper from the holder.

one at a time and feed them diagonally downward along the guide plate 13 to the printing mechanism. In the path of the paper and cooperating with the underside of the feed roll is a plurality of dogs or stops 14 which control the movement of the pieces of paper. These dogs are operated by the series of levers 15, 16 and 17 which are in turn operated by timing mechanism associated with the drum shaft. The periods of action and inaction of the dogs are timed to correspond with the movement of the type plates so that successive pieces of paper are permitted to pass on to the printing mechanism in time to meet the corresponding type plates and pass therewith between the roll and drum of the printing mechanism.

In machines of this character the type used are made to resemble the ordinary typewriter type. The reason for this is that it is desirable that the printed impressions resemble those made by the ordinary typewriter. An inked ribbon or fabric is used for supplying ink to the type and by printing through the ribbon the ribbon effect, which is characteristic of a type written impression, is obtained.

As hown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the ribbon 17 extends through the space between the roll and drum of the printing mechanism and is intervened between corresponding pieces of paper and type plates as they are successively pressed together. This is obvious since the path of the type plates is underneath while that of the pieces of paper is above the ribbon. For the purpose of holding the ribbon in proper relation to the printing position of the machine, I have provided two rerls or holders 18 and 19 upon which the ribbon is wound and between which it is normally stretched through the printing mechanism. The reel 18 is located at the rear or in take side of the printing mechanism and I term it a pay-out reel for convenience of explanation. The other reel 19 is positioned on the forward end of the frame at the delivery side of the printing mechanism and I term this one a take-up reel.

The pay-out reel 18 is carried upon a shaft 20 and is periodically rotated in one direction, to feed the ribbon forward. in a series of movements to the printing mechanism, by means of a train of gears suitably journaled in the casing or gear box 21 secured in position upon the upper portion of the frame, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 5. This casing is suitably formed to house the various gears and to hold them and the reel in their proper relation thereby constituting a selfcontained structure which may be easily detached or secured to the main frame of the machine. The reel contains a spring mechanism which at times acts to rotate it in a contrary direction and rewind the ribbon on the reel. This, however, is described later.

As clearly shown in Fig. 5 which however shows the driving train in'non-operative position, the large gear 22, at the lower end of the train, is mounted upon a shaft 23 having a journal in an extended portion 24 0f the gear casing. The shaft and gear preferably receive power, through the medium of the sprocket wheel 25 and the sprocket chain 26 (see Fig. 1) carried thereby, from the rear shaft of the conveyer mechanism (not shown) but, of course, it

and this shaft has on its inner end a small gear which meshes with a gear 31 directly connected to the side of the reel by the rivets 32. g

It is evident that since the ribbon is pressed between the type plates and pieces of paper by the printing mechanism, it must necessarily move with and at exactly the same speed as the type plate and paper, during the period of their passage through the printing mechanism, so as not to blur the impression. The ribbon could if desired be made to run continuously but it will be at once seen that an inconveniently long length of ribbon would be required to accommodate any reasonable number of type plates. Since there is a time interval between successive type plates of relatively longer duration than the time interval required for each printing operation, I prefer to allow the ribbon to' remain idle or inactive, so to speak, during the intervals between successive plates and to advance it during the actual time of transit of the plates and paper through the printing mechanism; thus fora given number of printing operations I am enabled to use a much shorter ribbon. Manifestly the payout reel and its gear mechanism could be thrown into and out of operation by means of a clutch to periodically advance the ribbon at the proper time, but I prefer to constantly rotate the major portion of the gear driving mechanism. and to connect and disconnect the reel froin this mechanism by.

moving it into and out of mesh with the gear 30. The reason for this is apparent; it reduces the number of parts to be started and stopped and hence the inertia thereof to a minimum, and in consequence the inking mechanism responds more quickly and definitely than otherwise and the wear and tear on the mechanism is reduced. For the purpose of carrying out this operation, I mount the pay-out reel in a swingable frame and I provide means (described later) for operating this frame at the proper time. As will be seen in Figs. 1 and 2, this frame comprises a shaft 34 to which are secured two rearwardly extending arms 35 and 36 in the free or outer endsof which is journaled the reel shaft v 20. This swinging frame has its bearings in the ends 37 of a lateral extension of bracket 38 formed on the gear casing 21. The arm 36 is inclined upwardly and has a depending extension in its outer end, which forms the bearing 39 for the reel shaft, the reason for this being that the arm clears the supporting bracket and the opening inthe top of the casing need be no longer than is necessary to admit the depending end. It will be seen thatby this arrangement the reel may be connected to or disconnected from its driving mechanism.

The periods of movement of the ribbon must be properly timed to correspond with the movement of the type plates. To accomplish this I have provided timing mechanism which connects the reel with its driving mechanism upon substantially the arrival of a type plate at the printing mech anism and whichdisconnects it therefrom shortly after the type plate completes its passage through the printing mechanism. The length of ribbon advanced during each period of action is preferably the same but this length is slightly greater than the length of thelongest body of type in the 7 type plates, the reason being that body length of type varies in the different plates.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that the rotary drum shaft of the printing mechanism carries a gear 42 which meshes with and drives another gear 43 suitably journaled in the frame. This latter gear carries a cam mem-' ber 44 which rocks a bail member 45 through the medium .of i a downwardly extending lever 46 and roller 47 carried on said bail. This bail, as will be seen in Figs. 2 and 4, is journaled upon a shaft 48 carried in the framework and extends from one side of the frame to the other. On the side corresponding to that on which the pay-out reel is mounted this bail carries an upstanding 11-11149 which is connected by a link 50 to a downward extension of the arm 36 of the reel frame. The cam 44, which operates this mechanism, is so positioned on its gear relatively to the conveyer and printing mechanism that it strikes the roller 4:7 and causes the pay out reel to be thrown into engagement with its driving mechanism substantially co-incident. with the arrival of a type plate and piece of paper at the printing mechanism. The ribbon moves with the plate and paper until relieved of pressure by the separating of the plate and paper after leaving the printing mechanism. the cam being of such length that it maintains the reel in operation during the printing interval.

It isdesirable that the ribbon be entirely free and unrestrained to more along under cated by dotted lines (Figs. 1 and 2) leaving that portion of the ribbon betwee the pay-out reel and the printing mechanism in a non-tensioned or free condition so that it will move unrestrainedly with the type plate and paper. -It will be understood, however, that, if desired, the ribbon may be paid out. at exactly the same rate of speed as the plate and paper.

For the purpose of preventing an accmnulation of ribbon at. the delivery side of the printing mechanism, and at the same time properly tension the ribbon and prevent slack, I provide the take-up reel 19. This reel, by reason of a spiral spring mechanism within it, constantly acts to automatically tensitm the ribbon and simnltanemisly wind it on said reel as it is paid out from the other reel. It is quite evident that. this reel may if desired be actuated by frictional driving mechanism constantly tending to rotate it in one direction. or, in fact, by any suitable mechanism. For simplicity and compactness of structure, however, I find it desirable to equip this reel with an internal spiral spring, such as shown in Fig. 6. This actuating spring is contained within an inclosure or casing which is anchored to the reel supporting bail 56 by means of a lathe dog 57, as clearly shown. The other side of this casing carries two gears 58 and 59 connected together. The pinion "58 meshes with another gear 60 which is secured to the side of the reel by the pins 61. The spiral spring is made up of a plurality of sections 62, each section being carried in a cup-shaped member 63 rotatably mounted on the shaft 64. The outer end of each spring section is secured to the inner rim of its cup, while the inner end of each section is joined to the hub portion of the next adjacent cup member so that the sections are connected together in series, the purpose in arranging the spring in this manner being to collect the entire spring into a compact condition and at the same timeit exerts a uniform tension throughoutn large number of rotations. The outer end of this series of spring sections is anchored at. 65 to the casing 55 while the inner end thereof is secured to the hub of a gear 66 which meshes with the pinion 59. As clearly shown, the spring mechanism through the medium of the intermeshing trainof gears constantly tends to rotate the reel in adirection to wind the ribbon thereon.

The ribbon by reason of its series of forward or advance movements is gradually transferred to the take-up reel, hence it is desirable to return the ribbon to the payout "holder so that'it will be in condition for another series of movements. By operating the ribbon in this manner it may be used a'gre'at number of times. In order to return the ribbon to the pay-out reel I provide said reel with an internal spring actuating mechanism similar to that of the take-up reel but acting in a contrary direction and of suflicient greater power to overcome the spring mechanism of the take up reel. As will be seen by reference to Fig. 5, this reel comprises three spiral sections connected end to end to form a series in the same manner that the take up reel spring is builtup. The inclosure or casing 67 is provided with a sleeve (38 surrounding the shaft and extending laterally to a point close to the journal bearing 39. At this point it is keyed to a dog 69 fastened by the screw 70 to the arm 36 so as to hold the casing against rotation. This reel contains a train of inter-meshing gears 71, 72 and 7-) as in the case of the. take-up reel. However, the pinion gear 73 is also keyed to the reel shaft 20 and this shaft at its other end carries a toothed member '75 which held against rotation by a lever pawl 76 (Fig. 1). The pawl is held in engagement with the toothed member by the spring 77. lVhen the payout reel is positively driven in one direction by its gear mechanism to advance the ribbon the spring is also wound up and energy stored therein. If after a series of forward movements of the ribbon the pawl is raised out of engagement with the. toothed member 7 5, it releases the spring and thereel will be rotated in the opposite direction: it overcomes the action of the take-up" reel and rewinds the ribbon on itself.

In the machine illustrated in the drawings, the type plates are discharged from the printing mechanism into a chute 78 and are directed downwardly thereby into the forward end of a drawer or receiver 7 9 carried in the lower portion of the frame. This drawer in practice is arranged to hold about plates and is removable so that when filled it may be removed from the machine and an empty drawer substituted. Any suitable means may be provided for releasing the spring actuating mechanism of the pay-out reel, but 1 find it desirable for obvious reasons to use a ribbon of snfiicient length to accommodate one drawer full of plates and to control the retract or rewinding mechanism by the removal of the drawer. This I accomplish by providing a lever 80 (Figs. 1 and 2) positioned in the oath of movement of the drawer. This lever is carried upon and rotates a shaft 81, the upper end of which shifts a small block to trip the lever pawl '76. hen the drawer is in position the lever 80 holds the shaft against rotation. When the drawer is removed. however, the lever 80 follows the end thereof under the influence of spring 83 and the block 82 trips the pawl out of en- There is su'lhcient lost motion between the end of block 82 and the lever pawl to allow for the slight up and down movement of the reel without tripping the pawl.

.It is obvious that my invention is capable of use with other printing machines or mechanisms by suitably modifying it to suit the particular machine with which it is used, hence I desire it'to be construedaccordingly. I claim: a 1. In a printing machine of the character described, the combination oit impression mechanism, means for delivering type plates and sheets of paper to said mechanism, an inked ribbon disposed between a type plate and its companion sheet of paper when said plate and sheet are in printing position, pay out and take-up spools on which said ribbon is mounted, springs for actuatsaid spools, one of said spools having a constant tendency to wind the ribbon thereon off the other spool, and means for periodically unwinding the ribbon from the payout spool against the action of its spring to permit the ribbon to be fed forward simultaneously with the type plate and paper.

'2. An inking device for printing machines of the kind wherein successive type plates and pieces of paper are periodically moved forward under pressure, comprising a holder disposed on each side of the printing position of the machine, and an inked ribbon supported by said holders and disposed between corresponding type plates and pieces of paper in the printing position, uni-directional mechanism actuating one of said holders and constantly tending to wind the ribbon on said holder, mechanism of relatively greater power constantly tending to wind the ribbon on said other holder, means restraining said mechanism. and mechanism timed to periodically actuate said other holder contrary to the action of its mechanism for permitting the ribbon to advance in a series of movements coincidental with successive type plates and pieces of paper, and

means for releasing said restraining mechanism to retract all of said ribbon.

3. A printing machine having a printing mechanism wherein successive type plates and pieces of paper are simultaneously pressed together while moving therethrough, in combination with an inked fabric interposed between a type plate and a piece of paper, holders for said ribbon, one of said holders acting to constantly tension said ribbon, mechanism actuating the other of said holders for moving forward a portion of said ribbon simultaneously with the move ment of each piece of paper and a type plate, and mechanismadapted to be brought into operation after a predetermined numher of forward movements for pulling back said ribbon, I p

4. A printing machine having a printing mechanism wherein successive type plates and pieces of paper are simultaneously pressed together while moving therethrough, in combination with an inked fabric interposed between a type plate and a piece of paper,- holders for said ribbon, one of said holders constantly exerting a tension on said ribbon, mechanism actuating the other of said holders for paying out a portion of said ribbon so that the ribbon moves simultaneously with a piece of paper and a type plate, and mechanism adapted to bebrought into operation after a predeteri'nined number of forward movements for pulling back said ribbon. I

5. In a, printing machine a printing mechanism wherein successive type plates and pieces of paper are simultaneously pressed together. while movin tl'ierethrough, in combination with an inlie'd ribbon disposed between the pressure parts of said printing mechanism, a holder for said ribbon, and mechanism operating said holder for unwinding therefrom a portion of said ribbon at a speed sufficient to permit the ribbon to freely more with the typ'e plate and piece H of paper, and tensioning means operative to tension the ribbon when said ribbon is relieved of pressure. I

(3. In a printing machine a printing mechanism wherein suc'cessive'type plates and pieces of paper are pressed together into printing engagement, in combination with an'inked ribbon,disposd between the pres sure parts of said printing mechanism and between a type plate and a piece of paper, a holder for s id ribbon, and mechanism actuating said holder for paying out a portion of said ribbon at a greater speed than that at which the type plate and paper more to permit the ribbon to be freely carried with said type plate and paper and at the same speed, and a tension holder operative to tension the ribbon when said ribbon is relieved of pressure.

7. In a printing machine a printing mechanism wherein successive type plates and pieces of paper are pressed together into printing engagement, in combination with an inked ribbon disposed between the pressure parts of said printing mechanism and between a type plate and a piece of paper, a holder for said ribbon, and uechanism actuating said holder for paying out a portion of said ribbon at a] greater speed than that at which the type plate and paper more to permit the ribbon to. be freely carried with said type plate and paper and at the same speed, a tension device constantly acting to tension the ribbon when said ribbon reel to unwind aportion of said ribbon at greater speed than the speed at which the type plate and papermove to render the ribbo-n free to be moved by said type plate and paper, a take-up reel acting to take up the slackin the ribbon when said ribbonis relieved of pressure, a drawer for the discharged type plates, and mechanism brought into operation upon the removal of the drawer for retracting said ribbon.

9. A printing machine having a' rotary printing mechanism by which successive type plates and pieces of paper are moved therethrough under printing pressure, an inked ribbon interposed between the pressure parts of.said printing mechanism and between a type plate and a piece of paper, a pay-out reel means for operating said reel to unwind a portion of said ribbon at. greater speed than the speed at which the type plate and paper move to render the ribbon free to be moved by said type plate and paper, a take-up reel operative to take up the slack of the ribbon when said ribbon is relieved of pressure, a drawer for the discharged type plates, and mechanism operative upon the removal of the drawer for counteracting the tensioning effort of said take-up reel, to re-wind the ribbon upon said pay-out reel. I

10. A printing machine having a rotary printing mechanism by -which successive type plates and pieces of paper are moved therethrough under printing pressure, an inked ribbon interposed between the pressure parts of said printing mechanism and between a type plate and a piece of paper, a pay-out reel means for'operating said reel to slack the ribbon so that it moves freely with said type plate and paper, neans independent of the printing mechanism for operating said pay-out reel, a take-up reel operative to take up the slack of the ribbon when said ribbon is relieved of pressure, and mechanism of greater power than that of the take-up reel for actuating said pay-out reel and re-win'ding the-ribbon thereon.

11. A printing machine having a rotary printing mechanism wherein successive type plates and pieces of paper are periodically pressed into printing engagement, in combination with an inking mechanism comprising an inked ribbon occupying a relative position between said type plates and pieces of paper, a holder, mechanism actuating said holder and constantly tending to wind the ribbon thereon, a second holder and actuating mechanism therefor constantly tending to wind the ribbon thereon against the pull of said first mentioned holder, and means normally restraining said actuating mechanism, driving mechanism operable in unison with successive type plates and pieces of paper for intermittently operating said second ho lder against the act-ion of its mechanism to permit the ribbon to move with said type plates and paper, and a releasing device for releasing said restraining means at the end of a series of movements of the ribbon to permit the ribbon to be re-wound upon said second holder.

12. A printing machine having a rotary printing mechanism wherein successive type plates and pieces of paper are periodically pressed into printing engagement, in combination with'an inking mechanism comprising an inked ribbon occupying a relative position between said type plates and pieces of paper, a holder, mechanism actuatin said holder and constantly tending to winc i the ribbon thereon, a second holder and actuating mech'anis'n therefor constantly tending to wind the ribbon thereon against the pull of said first mentioned holder, means normally restraining said actuating mechanism, driving mechanism operable in unison with successive type plates and pieces of paper for intermittently operating said second-holder against the action of its mechanism for throwing out an excess of ribbon so as to allow the ribbon to move freely with a type plate and piece of paper, and areleasing device for releasing said restrain- 1ng means at the end of a series of movements of the ribbonto permit the ribbon'to be 'wound upon said second holder.

13. A'printing machine having a rotary printing mechanism whereinsuccessive type plates and successive pieces of paper are periodically pressed into printing engagement, in combination with an inking mechanism comprising an inked ribbon-stretched through the printing mechanism and between said type plates and pieces of paper, a holder and mechanism therefor constantly tending to wind the ribbon on said holder, a second holder and actuating mechanism therefor constantly tending to wind the ribbon thereon against the pull of said first mentioned holder, means normally restraining said actuating mechanism, driving mechanism operable in unison with successive type plates and pieces of paper for operating said second holder against the action of its mechanism to permit the ribbon to move with said type plates and pieces of paper, a

receiver for the discharged type plates, and

a releasing device controlled by the removal,

to said printing mechanism, driving mechanism periodically actuating one of said spools to unwind the ribbon therefrom and permit it to feed to theother spool in a series of intermittent progressive movements,

actuating mechanism structurally independent of themrinting mechanism constantly tending to rotate said other spool in a di rection to wind the ribbon thereon, and an actuating mechanism associated with. said first-mentioned spool and adapted to be brought into operation at stated times for rotating the said first-mentioned spool in a contrary direction to re wind the ribbon thereon.

15. In a printing machine the combina-' tion with a rotary printing mechanism, a spool on each side of said printing mechanism, an inked ribbon wound on and supported by said spools in a definiteinking relation to said printing mechanism, driv ing mechanism periodically actuating one of said spools to unwind the ribbon therefrom and permit it to feed to the other spool in a series of intermittent progressive movements, and a spring actuating mechanism contained within said first-mentioned spool adapted to be brought into operation aftera predetermined number of intermittent movements of the ribbon for retrieving the ribbon and re-winding it upon said first mentioned spool. I

16. A printing machine having a rotary printing mechanism through which type plates are successively passed, in combina-' tion with a pay-out reel and a take-up reel positioned on opposite sides of said printing mechanism, an inked ribbon wound upon said reels and held by said reels in definite inking relation to said type plates and printing mechanism, spring actuating mech-.

anism for said take-up reel constantly pulling the ribbon in one direction and tending to wind it on said reel, a constantly operating gear mechanism associated with said pay-out reel, and means timed to the movevment of said type plates forintermittently connecting said payout reel with said gear mechanism to pay out the ribbon in a series of periodic progressive movements corresponding to the movements of the type plates throughthe printing mechanism, a spring'actuating mechanism for said payout' reel of relatively greater power than that of the take-up reel "and operable at predetermined periods for pulling the ribbon from the take-up 'reel in a single movement and rewinding it on said payout reel. I

17. A printing machine having a printing mechanism wherein successive type plates are pressed into printing engagement with corresponding successive pieces of paper, an inked ribbon and holders therefor supporting it in a definite relation to the said printing mechanism, mechanism periodically actuating said holders to move the ribbon in unison with said type plates as they pass through the printing mechanism, a receiver for the discharged type plates, and means controlled by the removal pf said receiver 7 for retrieving the ribbon.

18. A printing maehine having a prm ing mechanism through which successive type plates are passedand then discharged, a receiverfor the discharged type plates, a holder on each side of said printing-mechanism, an inked ribbon wound thereon and stretched therebetween and held by said holders in definite inking relation to said printing mechanism, mechanism actuating one of said holders to pay-out the rib-.

bon therefrom in a series of intermittent movements corresponding to the movements of successive type plates through the printing mechanism, and mechanism ,controlled I JOHN R. LErEvRE,

CHARLES GILBERT HAwnEY. 

